Rethink Your Commute: Metro SafeTrack Surge #8 Begins August 27

From the City of Alexandria:

The City of Alexandria and DASH have been working with the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) and the region’s localities to assist travelers as WMATA’s SafeTrack initiative continues.

SafeTrack’s "Safety Surges" involve long-duration of track outages for major projects in key parts of the system that will cause delays throughout the region. The City of Alexandria urges commuters to telework and use alternative ways to commute that do not involve driving alone.

SURGE #8: AUGUST 27-SEPTEMBER 11:

Surge #8 begins Saturday, August 27, and is scheduled to run through Sunday, September 11. Passengers should expect extreme crowding and delays in each direction for travel to and from Franconia-Springfield and Van Dorn Street.

Surge #8 will include the following changes, which have been updated since WMATA’s initial announcements:

On weekdays

• Blue Line trains will run from Franconia-Springfield every 24 minutes.
• Blue Line trains will run from Van Dorn Street every 12 minutes.
• All other Blue Line stations will have near-normal service.
• There will be no Rush+ Yellow Line service. Additional Yellow Line trains will run to and from Huntington instead.

On the weekends of August 27-28 and September 10-11

• There will be no rail service between Franconia-Springfield and Van Dorn Street.
• Free shuttle buses replace trains between Franconia-Springfield and Van Dorn Street.

On the weekend of September 3-5

• There will be no rail service between Franconia-Springfield and King Street-Old Town.
• Blue Line trains will continue south past King Street-Old Town to Eisenhower Avenue and Huntington instead of Van Dorn Street and Franconia-Springfield.
• Free shuttle buses will operate between Franconia-Springfield, Van Dorn Street and Eisenhower Avenue stations.

TRAVEL ALTERNATIVES:

Rail

• Amtrak and Virginia Railway Express (VRE) serve Alexandria Union Station ( 110 Callahan Dr.), which is adjacent to the King Street-Old Town Metro Station but does not use Metrorail tracks.

Bus

• DASH
  • AT7 – connecting Van Dorn, Eisenhower Ave, and King St Metro stations
    • Westbound to Landmark Mall
    • Eastbound to King Street Metro / Old Town / Lee Center
  • AT5 – weekend connection between Van Dorn and Eisenhower Avenue Metro
    • Westbound to Landmark Mall / Van Dorn Metro
    • Eastbound to Braddock Metro via Old Town
• Metrobus
  • 11Y –Mt. Vernon / Hunting Point to DC
  • 21 A/D –Landmark Area to Pentagon
  • 25B – Van Dorn Metro to Ballston Metro
• Fairfax Connector
  • Connector 321/322
  • Saratoga Park & Ride to Pentagon services – Route 393 serves Mark Center and Pentagon

Bike

• Bike using Alexandria’s extensive bike routes and paths. For more information, see suggested routes for Surge 8 or the Alexandria Bike Map.
• To borrow a bike, check out Capital Bikeshare. There are 29 stations in Alexandria, with three more coming soon! During SafeTrack, Capital Bikeshare is offering single rides of up to 30 minutes for $2, in addition to the existing membership options.

Telework

• The best way to commute is not to! Learn more about how to telework from home or a remote work center. For more information, see Commuter Connections.

The Alexandria Police Department will provide additional traffic control at key intersections affected by the surge. The City's Traffic Management Center will be fully staffed and ready to assist and adjust traffic signal timing based on traffic needs.

For more information about SafeTrack and Alexandria’s plans to help, visit alexandriava.gov/SafeTrack. To receive travel updates by email and text message, subscribe to the free MetroAlerts and Alexandria eNews services.

Graphic via the the City of Alexandria.